Architekwiki
  • Home
  • WIKI
  • Start Here
  • Resources
  • Other
    • Reading List
    • Details
    • The 3 Aspects
    • About
    • Sign Up
    • Terms of Use
  • Ochre
    • Ochre
    • Ochre KB
    • Ochre FAQs
    • Ochre Help
  • Home
  • WIKI
  • Start Here
  • Resources
  • Other
    • Reading List
    • Details
    • The 3 Aspects
    • About
    • Sign Up
    • Terms of Use
  • Ochre
    • Ochre
    • Ochre KB
    • Ochre FAQs
    • Ochre Help

Architekwiki

A Resource For Architects
Subscribe

Categories

All
3 Aspects
Business Development
Communications
Concepts
Design
Detail
Estimating
Finances
Legal Issues
Management
Miscellaneous
Money
Ochre
People
Planning
Process
Projects
Records
Services
Specifications
Standards
Time
Tools

Archives

May 2022
April 2022
February 2022
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
June 2021
May 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012

Time Management vs Goal Management

7/23/2017

 
Time vs Goals
I am a bit of a self-help junkie. Lord knows I need it. My first architect-boss informed me that I might make a better monk than an architect. I never listen.

During my self-help bingeing years, I probably consumed two dozen books that tried to tell me how to manage time. Very little of that wisdom stuck. The real help came from the authors who talked more about goals and priorities than time-management. Folks like Steven Covey, and Dan Sullivan of The Strategic Coach. But once you set goals for yourself, how do you actually get there?

The best system I have found is 'The Three Things'. I don't know where it originates, but at least once a year I read an article that promotes the idea.

Before I explain how I use The Three Things idea, let's lay some groundwork. The first issue is that time-management too often focuses on efficiency - getting the most done every day. It's exhausting. Goal-management on the other hand is all about effectiveness. If you are being effective, efficiency doesn't matter very much. By focusing on your goals you will automatically eliminate time-wasters.

For instance email is 90%+ a waste of time for most of us. 'Don't start your day with email; you may not recover.' I see that advice about once a month. A recent tweak in this concept is to never read email that you are copied on. Move it to a folder, automatically if you can. The point being that the sender and receiver are handling the issue. You don't need to be involved.

How you handle email "trains" your correspondents to act in a certain way toward you. If you answer email all day long you are training people to have running conversations with you during which the issue slowly unfolds (and the number of emails multiplies). If you answer email once a day, people will present the whole case to you in hopes of getting an answer today.

The second issue is that everything you need to do is not goal-related. To be effective though you need to save those tasks for after you have achieved your goals for the day. Take care of your goal-oriented tasks first before you get derailed.

The third issue is "setup time". Before you tackle some tasks, you need to get set up for them. Often this is unconscious or psychological. You intend to get started, but you keep finding things that have to be cleared up so you can concentrate. If you are prone to that syndrome, and I certainly am, plan for it. Start early so that 'clearing up' stuff doesn't put you into crisis mode later on. Setup time is a real thing, so it is better to acknowledge it.

The final issue is "bunk off days". You have heard of biorhythms, right? There are going to be days when despite deadlines, planning, and best intentions nothing useful is going to happen. I'm not talking about distractions. I'm talking about being useless. It is like writer's block. You can sit there, but it ain't happening. My advice is 'bunk off'. Go somewhere and find a way to entertain yourself. Re-live season 4, episode 5 (The Bad Boys) of The IT Crowd. Feeling useless all day is not fun, bunking off is.
​

OK. Here is how The Three Things works. You start by selecting three goals for the year. You might replace a goal as the year unfolds. That's legitimate. But 3 is the number, no fewer, no more.

Next, with those three goals in mind, select three goals for this month. You might focus on just one of the goals for the year, or all three. Whatever makes sense to you.

Similarly you select three goals for the week and for tomorrow. Make each task easily attainable in the timeframe you are working with - day, week, month, year. The concept is to 'feel' the progress toward the goals you have set. In my experience, getting stuck on a goal leads to abandoning the goal. That's not the point, so easy goals is the watchword.

However, abandoning goals is completely acceptable. Changing your mind about what is important is OK. Modify whenever you think you are headed in the wrong direction. But daily progress is really important to sticking to your goal-achieving.

You will probably think of other things to add to your goals from time to time that don't fit The Three Things system. Pick a place to file them for later. Browse them occasionally, say, a couple times a year if you want. I put mine in Evernote with the tag:to-do. It feels good to know I captured the idea, and it is easy to retrieve all of them for review.

The Three Things' finite list of 12 goals makes success easy, almost assured. You don't waste time managing a two page to-do list (single spaced - been there). But you do SPEND time on what is important to you, instead of just PLANNING to spend time on what is important to you.

I have used Post-It Notes, a folded piece of paper, Moleskine notebook, Word, Nozbe, Evernote, and currently Backpack. The 'how' doesn't really matter. Using the tool to accomplish what is important to you is the whole, and only, point.
Picture
###


These are links to two other articles on TIME.

Random Thoughts On Time-Management

Setting Priorities

Comments are closed.
    Resources

    Start Here

    tips

    Trello-PM

    FeeCalqs3

    Financial Model Workbook

    OFFPLAN

    Drywall Details

    Terms of Use
    Your use of Architekwiki is implicit agreement with the 
    ​
    Terms of Use.

    RSS Feed


    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012

Picture

Picture
VISIT ARCHITEKWIKI'S RESOURCES
​
START HERE
ABOUT
SIGN UP
TERMS OF USE
Architekwiki | Architect's Resource | Greater Cincinnati | (859) 444-4560
© 2012-2022   Architekwiki​